Shrek The Musical
Cast and Creative Team
ASTRID ATHERLY as Gingy/Wicked Witch/Bluebird Puppeteer
Astrid is thrilled to be making her YPT Debut in Shrek The Musical! She’s a University of Windsor graduate with a B.A. in Music & a B.M.A. Credits: Elsewhere: HANS: My Life In Fairy Tales (Kidoons and WYRD), Mary Poppins (Thousand Islands Playhouse), Boy Boy and the Magic Drum (Under A Grove Productions), Jesus Christ Superstar (TIFT), The Rocky Horror Show, Avenue Q (The Historic Gayety); Cinderella Panto (also with DREAM Co.), Aladdin Virtual Panto (Diversified Theatre); As You Like It (Canadian Stage); The Prince’s Big Adventurer, To Light The Fuse, and The Woman He Painted (Minmar Gaslight Productions); Forever Dusty and Rocky Horror Dinner Show (The Medley); Aurora in Love and Drew’s Story (Shadowpath Theatre); Songs for a New World (We Are Here Productions with Cue to Cue Productions); In This House (Talk Like You Theatre); Newsies, Dreamgirls, Curious George and Others (LOT); Pirates of Penzance (Toronto Operetta Theatre). Film/TV credits include What We Do in the Shadows, BLK: An Origin Story, Workin’ Moms.
TAT AUSTRIE as Dragon/Mama Bear/Duloc Performer
Tat is a classically trained multidisciplinary artist from the GTA. They are unBEARably excited to be making their YPT debut and cannot wait to share the world of Shrek The Musical with everyone! Credits: YPT: Debut. Other Theatre (Selected): My Fair Lady, Cotton Club, The House That Will Not Stand, Amen Corner (Shaw Festival); The Man That Got Away (Buddies In Bad Times Theatre); Hamlet-911 (Stratford Festival); Finding Black Joy (The Grand Theatre).
TAJ CROZIER, Standby – Donkey/Dragon/Gingy/Pinocchio/Pig #1/Pig #2/Pig#3/Baby Bear
Taj is a recent graduate from both Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre program and Brock University’s Acting program. He has had the pleasure of performing in both plays and musicals alike, with roles such as 10/Bobbie James in Concord Floral (Brock), Brother Jeremiah in Something Rotten (Sheridan), Kurt Kelly in Heathers: The Musical (Sheridan), and most recently Letter Q in CTRL ALT DELETE (Toronto Fringe Festival). Taj is beyond ecstatic to be collaborating with all the incredible artists involved in bringing Shrek the Musical to life!
MEGAN DALLAN as Baby Bear/Young Fiona/Duloc Performer
Megan Dallan (she/her) is a Toronto-based artist originally from Woodstock, ON. She is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Bachelor of Music Theatre program and co-founder of Beyond Melodies Co. She’s so stoked to be making her Young People’s Theatre debut in Shrek The Musical alongside such a stellar cast and team! Theatre (selected): Waitress (The Grand Theatre/Theatre Aquarius), Sound of Music (The Grand Theatre), Grow (The Grand Theatre), Hogan’s Hoedown (Victoria Playhouse), Maggie (Theatre Sheridan), Phantom of the Opera (Theatre Sheridan). Select Film/TV credits: Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), Priscilla (A24), Cruel Intentions (Amazon).
ELLEN DENNY as Princess Fiona
Originally from London, Ontario, Ellen now lives in Toronto, where she has appeared in Dora Award-winning productions including, Life After (Canadian Stage / Musical Stage) and Red Velvet (Crow’s Theatre). Ellen performs across Canada with companies such as Mirvish, the Grand Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Drayton Entertainment, Citadel Theatre, and the Segal Centre. Favourite roles include Maria in The Sound of Music (Thousand Islands Playhouse), Eliza in My Fair Lady (Capitol Theatre Port Hope), Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Neptune Theatre), and Anne in Anne & Gilbert (National Arts Centre / The Guild Charlottetown). Also a playwright, Ellen’s work has been produced at Neptune Theatre, Musical Stage, Here for Now Theatre, Driftwood Theatre, Globus Theatre, Live Bait Theatre, The Guild Charlottetown, and streamed on STRATFEST@HOME. You can also catch her on screen in Murdoch Mysteries, The Terminal List, and The Handmaid’s Tale.
JOEMA FRITH as Donkey
Joema is so excited to be making his YPT debut with this awesome and super silly cast! YPT: Debut. Other Theatre: Disney’s The Lion King (Mirvish), Mary Poppins (Rainbow Stage), Universal Child Care (Quote Unquote Collective), Matilda (Yes Theatre), Beautiful (Drayton Entertainment).
ALEX FURBER, Standby – Shrek/Farquaad/Pinocchio/Wolf/Pig #1/Pig #2/Peter Pan/Baby Bear
Theatre (Selected): Stand By – Scar and Pumbaa in Disney’s The Lion King (Mirvish); Clue, The Wars, Chariots of Fire (The Grand Theatre); It’s a Wonderful Life (WCT); A Few Good Men, Buying The Farm, Marathon of Hope, Brighton Beach Memoirs, The War Show (Drayton Entertainment); My Night With Reg (Studio 180/Mirvish); Jitters (Soulpepper); Anne & Gilbert (National Arts Centre); Clue, Cabaret (Royal Manitoba Theatre Company); and Albert Narracott in WarHorse (Mirvish). Film/TV: Macy Murdoch, Most Dangerous Game, Murdoch Mysteries, Mayday, Reign, and Flashpoint. Alex is a graduate of The National Theatre School of Canada.
DOMINIQUE LEBLANC as Peter Pan/Teen Fiona/Duloc Performer/Fiona Understudy
For YPT: Truth. Other Theatre (selected): Maria in The Sound of Music, Controlled Damage (The Grand Theatre); Sophie in Mamma Mia!, Kitchen Party, Shrek, A Christmas Carol, The Wizard of Oz (Neptune Theatre); April Fools (Segal Centre); Once The Musical (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Master & Margarita (Crow’s Theatre); Buddy Holly, Annie (Drayton Entertainment); Almost A Full Moon in Concert (Citadel Theatre). Film/TV: Weirdos* (Lithium Studios). Training: Sheridan College, Royal Conservatory of Music.
JEFF MADDEN as Wolf/Thelonius/Duloc Performer/Knight/Bishop/Grumpy Dwarf
Jeff is thrilled to be making his YPT debut with this beautiful production! A Toronto-based performer, Jeff was an original member of Mirvish Production’s record-breaking run of Come From Away, where he played “Kevin T & Others” more than 700 times. Previously, Jeff starred as ‘Frankie Valli’ in the Canadian premiere of Jersey Boys, winning the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Musical, a role he also played more than 700 times in Toronto and across Australia. He has recently co-created How We Got To Jersey: A Tale Of Two Frankies, and is touring it around Ontario. Selected Theatre: Rock of Ages, Forever Plaid, ‘Til Then, Echoes, and I Love You Because (Dora Nomination); eight seasons at the Shaw Festival in Tristan, Belle Moral, Happy End, Three Sisters, and Floyd Collins; and two seasons at the Charlottetown Festival. Selected TV: Terminal List, Murdoch Mysteries, Mayday, Accused, and The Parker-Andersons. Jeff is also a passionate teacher of actors and singers at Sheridan and Randolph Colleges and privately.
MICKEY MCKINNON as Pig #3/Duloc Performer/Dragon Puppeteer
Mickey McKinnon is thrilled to be making their YPT debut in Shrek! They are a recent graduate of the Musical Theatre Performance program at Sheridan College. Theatre (selected): Nigel Bottom in Something Rotten, a multi-role instrumentalist in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Billy Bob/Dutch in Piper (First Drafts), for which they received an Outstanding Performance award. Mickey is also a proud alumnus of The Grand Theatre’s High School Project, where they performed in Les Misérables, Evita, Prom Queen, and Titanic: The Musical.
TREVOR PATT as Shrek
Trevor is absolutely ogre-joyed to be making his YPT debut! Theatre (selected): Pumbaa in Disney’s The Lion King (Mirvish); Six seasons at the Stratford Festival including Sir Robin in Spamalot, Eddie/Dr. Scott in the Rocky Horror Show, Frankenstein Revived, Guys and Dolls, Billy Elliot, Shakespeare in Love, The Music Man, Here’s What it Takes, Little Pinks, Martin Guerre, HMS Pinafore, Up From Paradise; Three seasons at The Charlottetown Festival; Multiple productions at The Grand Theatre, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre, Capitol Theatre, The Mayfield, Here For Now, Theatre Orangeville, Rainbow Stage, 1000 Islands Playhouse, Smile Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, and the National Arts Centre.
TYLER PEARSE as Pinocchio/Ugly Duckling/Duloc Performer/Knight & Dance Captain and Associate Choreographer
Pronouns: He/Him. Hometown/Current Town: Toronto, ON. For YPT: Debut. Other Theatre (selected): Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Mirvish/Crow’s Theatre/Musical Stage Co.), Waitress (The Grand Theatre/Theatre Aquarius), The Wizard of Oz (Canadian Stage), Rock of Ages (More Ent./Elgin Theatre), Mamma Mia! (Thousand Islands Playhouse), Peter’s Final Flight, Lil’ Red Robin Hood (Ross Petty Productions), Oliver! (Stratford Festival). Film & TV: Paw Patrol (Nickelodeon), Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC). Education: Assistants & Associates Program (Canadian Guild for Directors & Choreographers), RBC Apprenticeship for Choreography/Movement Direction (Musical Stage Co.), Sheridan College, Etobicoke School of the Arts. In addition to his performance career, Tyler is a budding choreographer passionate about bringing innovative and gutsy work to the Canadian Musical Theatre scene and beyond.
ALANA RANDALL as Pig #2/Duloc Performer/Dragon Puppeteer
Alana Alana is a Toronto native who’s lived in NYC over the past decade and is thrilled to be back performing in her home city of Toronto. Theatre (selected) – NYC: The Vagina Monologues (Jerry Orbach Theater). Tours: MOTOWN The Musical, Dirty Dancing, The Wizard Of Oz, Forever Motown. Toronto: The Wizard Of Oz (Mirvish), Bend It Like Beckham The Musical (Bluma Appel Theatre), Footloose (Alumnae Theatre), From Here To Africville (Factory Theatre). Regional: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Segal Centre & Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Damn Yankees and Everybody (Shaw Festival); West Side Story (Rainbow Stage); Ain’t Misbehavin (Magnus Theatre); Hair (The Grand Theatre); High School Musical and Hairspray (Drayton Entertainment); High School Musical (Neptune Theatre). TV/Film: The Westies (MGM+), The LA Complex (CW), MADE The Movie (MTV), Carrie (2013 movie remake), and played Frankie as a series regular on Hellcats (CW).
MICHAEL THERRIAULT as Lord Farquaad/Guard/Knight
For YPT: Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Other Theatre (selected): Four seasons at the Shaw Festival — most recently Moonface Martin in Anything Goes and Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe; Eight seasons at the Stratford Festival; Lord of the Rings, The Producers (Mirvish); Fiddler on the Roof, The Tin Pan Alley Rag (New York). Film/TV: Most notably — Tommy Douglas in Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story on CBC.
TRAVAE WILLIAMS as Pig #1/Duloc Performer/Dragon Puppeteer
Travae is feeling extremely blessed to be making his YPT debut with such a fun classic. Theatre (selected): Grease, Crazy For You, A Christmas Carol: The Panto, Jersey Boys (Drayton Entertainment); Sebastian in The Little Mermaid (Théâtre Capitol Theatre); Swing in RENT, Dancer in Richard II (Stratford Festival); Bob in 9 to 5 (Port Hope Festival); Ensemble in Dixon Road (Musical Stage Co.).
CREATIVE TEAM
HERBIE BARNES, Director
Herbie is the Artistic Director of YPT. He is an accomplished playwright, performer, director and arts educator whose 30-year-career spans stages across North America. An Anishinaabe theatre artist from Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation on Manitoulin Island, Herbie was among the generation of young Indigenous artists in the 1990s breaking down barriers to forge professional careers in Canadian theatre. Barnes was raised in Toronto. His theatre career began in 1989 with Debajehmujig Theatre Group, touring Ontario with the first run of Drew Hayden Taylor’s Toronto at Dreamer’s Rock. Since then he has collaborated with some of North America’s largest theatre companies and was nominated for a John Hirsch Director’s Award. His Dora Award-nominated play, Bentboy, had its world premiere at YPT in 2022 and received the Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award in 2020.
JEANNIE WYSE, Music Director/Arranger/1st Keyboard
Jeannie appeared as the Vocal Coach for CBC’s Over The Rainbow and is in demand as a Vocal Teacher, Coach, and Musical Director. Theatre (selected): Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (YPT), Seussical (YPT); Kiss Me Kate, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Holiday Inn, The Drowsy Chaperone, Anything Goes, Chicago, The Wizard of Oz, Mary Poppins (Drayton Entertainment); Jersey Boys (Dancap); The Sound of Music (Mirvish); Nine, Kiss Me Kate (Theatre Sheridan); Canadian Women in Song (Angelwalk); The Full Monty (Rose Theatre); Hair (The Grand Theatre); Urinetown, Guys & Dolls, Fame, Wonderful Town, Into the Woods, The Rocky Horror Show (Randolph College); and You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Georgian Theatre Festival). Jeannie has toured North America with Riverdance – The Show, and toured and recorded extensively with the Elmer Iseler Singers. She has appeared as a soloist with the AIMS Festival Orchestra, Summer Opera Lab, Vocalpoint Chamber Choir, and the Toronto Mendelssohn Youth Choir with whom she was a Vocal Coach for seven years. Jeannie is Vocal Department Head at the Randolph College for the Performing Arts and has served as conductor of the Intermediate Chorus for the Canadian Children’s Opera Company. She was Associate Music Director for the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto (including three recordings with The Choir of MCC) for 21 years and is the current Music Director at Jubilee United Church. Jeannie has also been a keyboardist for Beauty and the Beast (YPT); Pelagie (Canadian Stage); Billy Elliot, Mamma Mia!, Lord of the Rings, and Book of Mormon (Mirvish). Jeannie studied Voice, Piano, and Organ at the Western Conservatory of Music and Opera with Lois McDonall and at the American Institute for Musical Studies in Austria. She has a private studio teaching Musical Theatre, Pop, and Classical voice, and is also active as a Clinician and Adjudicator.
MONICA DOTTOR, Choreographer
Monica Dottor is a 12-time Dora Mavor Moore* nominated Actor/Director/Choreographer/Writer/Designer and a four-time recipient. Monica completed her MFA in Theatre Performance/Creation/Direction. Theatre: Janice Almighty (Company Blonde Dance Projects); A Blow in the Face, The Penelopiad* (Nightwood); Bears* (Punctuate); The Other (Company Blonde); In the Fire, Tweet Tweet*, Flora & Fauna, Circus Sessions (Femmes Du Feu); Rose*, Idomeneus, Eurydice, Marat/Sade* (Soulpepper); The Overcoat, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Middle Place (Canadian Stage); SCRATCH, Featuring Loretta, Chekhov’s Shorts (Theatre Smith-Gilmour). TV/Film: Interview With the Vampire, SkyMed, 8 Bit Christmas, Orphan Black, Everything is Going to Be Great, LUNE, Picture Day, Star Falls, Murdoch Mysteries, Rookie Blue, Saving Hope. Upcoming: Métis Nutcracker (Company Blonde/Punctuate), cicadas (National Arts Centre/Tarragon).
WILLIAM LAYTON, Set & Props Designer
Theatre (selected): The Play That Goes Wrong, Jersey Boys, and Million Dollar Quartet (Charlottetown Festival); Dreamgirls, The Great Gatsby, The Hobbit, and Elf (The Grand Theatre); Elevate: MANAAJI’IDIWIN directed by Herbie Barnes (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). Film/TV:10 seasons of The Next Step, John Water’s ’Till Death Do Us Part, and Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth. Awards: Dora Award, Freud: Civilization and its Discontent (set design); Dora nomination, YPT’s Mary Poppins (costume design); Canadian Screen Award nomination, Fall (film production design).
JOYCE PADUA, Costume Designer
For YPT: The Darkest Dark (Associate Set and Costume Designer). Theatre (selected): Bright Star (Garner Theatre Productions); Tell Tale Harbour (Mirvish Productions, Charlottetown Festival); My Fair Lady (Shaw Festival); Prison Dancer (National Arts Centre, Citadel Theatre); The Full Monty (Capitol Theatre); Topdog/Underdog (Canadian Stage); Intimate Apparel (Thousand Islands Playhouse); The Ballad of Stompin’ Tom (Capitol Theatre); Vierge (Factory Theatre); Too True to Be Good (Shaw Festival); Year of the Rat (Factory Theatre); Desire Under the Elms (Shaw Festival); Infinite Life (Coal Mine Theatre). Awards: 2021 Siminovitch Prize Protégée, Design.
ECHO ZHOU, Lighting Designer
Echo is an award-winning, proud Chinese immigrant and Tkaronto-based scenographer. She has designed for numerous art organizations in Canada, including the National Art Centre, Stratford Festival, The Grand Theatre, Why Not Theatre, Tapestry Opera, Tarragon Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Thousand Islands Playhouse, and various live performance festivals. Her designs have also been presented in Japan and China. Her favourite recent credits are Benevolence (Benevolence Collective), Comfort Food (Crow’s Theatre), Blind Dates (Theatre passe Muraille); Cymbeline (Stratford Festival); Rocking Horse Winner (Tapestry Opera); A Poem for Rabia (Tarragon Theatre); The Chinese Lady (Studio 180); Between a Wok and a Hotpot (Cahoots Theatre); The Year of the Cello (Theatre Passe Muraille); Every Brilliant Thing (Thousand Island Playhouse); White Girls in Moccasins (Manidoons Collective); Mr.Shi and His Lover (Music Picnic). Echo is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
BRIAN KENNY, Sound Designer
Brian is a designer for theatre from Newfoundland and Labrador and is a graduate from The National Theatre School of Canada and Sheridan College. Theatre (selected): Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (YPT), Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (Crow’s Theatre/Mirvish), A Strange Loop (Soulpepper), The Wizard of Oz: A Holiday Pantomime (Canadian Stage), La Cage Aux Folles (Stratford Festival), Fall On Your Knees (Vita Brevis), Kelly vs Kelly (Musical Stage), After The Rain (Tarragon), Between Breaths (Artistic Fraud). Brian is a proud member of IATSE659 – The Associated Designers of Canada.
ALEXA BELGRAVE, Associate Musical Director/2nd Keyboard
Pianist, Music Director, and Educator, Alexa has been an active member of Toronto’s music community for almost a decade. Upon completing her ARCT and a degree in jazz piano studies from U of T, Alexa has been creating and collaborating with multiple projects spanning across diverse genres and mediums. As a musical director she has worked with Dance Immersion, Nightwood Theatre, Bad Hats Theatre, The Musical Stage Company, Sheridan Theatre, Obsidian Theatre, and more. Recent show credits include Heathers, After the Rain, I Was Unbecoming Then, and Boy Boy and the Magic Drum. As a keyboard pit player, recent credits includes Mirvish’s Lion King and YPT’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Personally, she has released her debut album Let’s Talk under her project, Moodset, in March 2024. Alexa currently teaches at Sheridan College, Randolph College, and Mayfield Secondary School of the Arts, as well as freelances in various musical roles.
DAVID MACDOUGALL, Drums/Percussion
David MacDougall is a multi-genre drummer and percussionist who has been working steadily in the Canadian music industry since the age of 16. He brings a musical, song-based approach to a wide variety of genres from rock and country to jazz and improvised music, always ready and willing to give songs and artists whatever they need. In his professional career David has worked with many Canadian artists across every imaginable genre. David has deep ties to the music theatre community, and has participated in many professional productions including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (YPT, 2024), the national touring productions MJ The Musical (Toronto shows); Mean Girls (Toronto shows), and Chicago (Toronto shows); Holiday Inn (Shaw Festival, 2021); Dora Award-winning Caroline, or Change (Winter Garden Theatre/Berkeley Street Theare); Falsettos and Wild Party (Musical Stage Company/Acting Up Theatre); The Prom, Mamma Mia, and Grease (Drayton Entertainment).
MEGHAN SPEAKMAN, Stage Manager
Meghan loves to bring theatre to young audiences, and is excited to be here at YPT for the first time! Though based in Toronto, she has had the opportunity to work on a wide variety of productions across Canada. Theatre (selected): Roméo et Juliette, Faust (COC); Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet (Canadian Stage); Comfort Food (Crow’s Theatre); Hypothetical Baby (Nightwood); Madame Minister (Talk is Free); Age is a Feeling (Soulpepper); Monster (Factory); Canoe (Native Earth); Behind the Moon (Tarragon); The Trojan Girls and the Outhouse of Atreus (Outside the March).
EMMANUELLE SO, Assistant Stage Manager
Emmanuelle (she/her) is a Chinese-Canadian Stage Manager, based in Toronto. She is excited to be back at YPT for another season. Her Assistant Stage Manager credits include: Wicked Nix (YPT); The Magic Flute (Glenn Gould School); Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (YPT); Age is a Feeling (Soho Theatre and Haley McGee Production, presented by Soulpepper in association with Luminato Festival Toronto). As Stage Manager: Boy Falls from the Sky Regional Tour (Talk Is Free Theatre); John Who (Preamble Productions). As Apprentice Stage Manager: The Fixing Girl (YPT); Of the Sea (Tapestry Opera, Obsidian); The Marriage of Figaro (Canadian Opera Company); The Ex Boyfriend Yard Sale (Never Mind the Noise, presented by Soulpepper, Outside the March, and The Red Light District); Boy Falls from the Sky (Past Future Productions, Mirvish).
TSZ TING (TIFFANY) LAM, Apprentice Stage Manager
YPT: Debut. Other theatre: Faust (COC); Three Islands (UofT Opera); Munschables, Island Vibes (Charlottetown Festival); Bluebeard’s Castle (Against the Grain Theatre); Tartuffe (Opera Nuova). Tsz Ting was also the Metcalf Intern Producer at Nightwood Theatre in 2023 and is currently training under AMHC as a mental health coordinator.